Related Articles
The Mail on Sunday has lost its appeal, after a court found earlier this year it had breached Meghan’s privacy and copyright when it printed excerpts from a letter she wrote to her estranged father. Meghan sued publisher Associated Newspapers over five articles which included parts of the letter she sent to Thomas in 2018. Meghan’s barristers had argued that the letter was “deeply personal” and “self-evidently was intended to be kept private”. The Duchess won her case in a summary judgement in February, but Associated Newspapers launched an appeal, arguing the case should go to trial.
Yesterday, the publisher lost its appeal.
The Duchess of Sussex’s relationship with her father has been brought into the spotlight as a result of the trial.
Their fallout started making headlines when Thomas staged paparazzi photos of himself preparing for the Sussexes’ wedding.
He changed his mind about whether he would attend the wedding multiple times, before Meghan confirmed he would not be there via an official statement just two days before the big event.
Thomas then began making regular appearances in the British press, telling the Mail that Meghan’s “riles” him with her “sense of superiority”.
In January 2020, he told Channel 5 that Meghan and Harry “owe” him and added that Meghan should “look after her daddy.”
He said: “At this point, they owe me. The royals owe me. Harry owes me, Meghan owes me. What I’ve been through, I should be rewarded for.
“My daughter told me that when I reach my senior years she’ll take care of me. I’m in my senior years now – it’s time to look after daddy.”
Thomas claimed the portrayal of him in the media had been unfair and that he had agreed to the documentary “because I want everyone to know that I’m not all the trashy things that are being said about me”.
He continued: “I want Harry and Meghan to see this video and know that this is not fair.”
Channel 5 told NBC News that Thomas was paid to participate in the documentary titled ‘Thomas Markle: My Story’
Channel 5 said: “We mention within the program that he has been paid as part of the editorial and have been transparent about this. We never reveal how much we pay contributors.”
While her father was very vocal in the media over the last three years, Meghan remained quiet.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle ‘dreaming of hosting own talk show’
But in the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey, she broke her silence – Meghan said felt “betrayed” when Thomas initially denied “working with the tabloids”.
She said: “When I asked him he said ‘no, absolutely not’.
“I said, I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help. And he wasn’t able to do that.”
She added that it has become harder for her to understand her father’s motivations since becoming a mother.
Meghan said: “I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can’t imagine it. So it’s hard for me to reconcile that.
“Look, they’ve hunted my mum down, and you’ve never heard her say a word. She’s remained in silent dignity for four years, watching me go through this.”
DON’T MISS
Harry slams ‘corporate greed and political failure’ in Covid and HIV [INSIGHT]Four ways Prince Harry has followed in Diana’s footsteps [ANALYSIS]Meghan and Harry have not made podcast in a year despite £18m deal [INSIGHT]
After the interview, Thomas vowed he would continue speaking to the press and admitted lying to his daughter about working with the press, adding he wished he “hadn’t done the whole thing.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he warned his daughter he will keep up the media appearances until she speaks to him.
Thomas said: “If I don’t hear from them in 30 days, I’ll do another one. I would love to hear from them. When they decide to talk to me, I’ll stop talking to the press.
“I’d like to say sorry for what I’ve done, but this was two years ago. I’ve tried to make up for it. But these stories in the paper are because I haven’t heard from you.”
Oprah also asked Meghan about her half-sister Samantha, who released a “tell-all” book about their relationship and goes into detail about their childhood.
The Duchess retorted: “I don’t feel comfortable talking about people that I really don’t know. But I grew up as an only child, which everybody who grew up around me knows.”
